While most students were writing reports and taking exams during finals week, lighting design students were worrying about glare, light distribution, and presenting a quarter’s worth of work to a panel of industry professionals as part of the LED (light-emitting diode) Luminaire Design Competition with the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California, Davis. As the result of their hard work and dedication, the winning designs will be displayed at LIGHTFAIR International 2009.

Beginning in January 2009, the 28 students enrolled in the “Designing with Light” studio course with Professor Michael Siminovitch at the CLTC designed, developed and prototyped a fully working LED-based lighting fixture. Products were donated by numerous industry sponsors including OSRAM Opto Semiconductors who supplied the LEDs for the project. From decorative wall sconces to emergency exit lighting, the project provided a variety of opportunities to design unique and functional fixtures. Students explored fundamental concepts in lighting, materials, and aesthetically pleasing lighting systems.

“It was very exciting to see the students’ energy-efficient prototypes come to life and the unique use of LED lighting,” said Brian Terao, Director, Solid State Lighting, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Inc. “The judges were genuinely impressed with the caliber of the students’ work. These innovative, young designers are at the forefront of a growing industry and it was an honor to see the creativity and innovation of tomorrow’s design professionals.”

After a series of presentations, a panel of judges from the CTLC and sponsors had the challenging task of evaluating the prototypes based on the creative use of LED technology, overall functionality and design. The top three designs, as well as two luminaries that received honorable mentions, will be on display in the OSRAM Opto Semiconductor LED Gallery in the OSRAM SYLVANIA booth (#1609) at LIGHTFAIR International 2009, May 5-7 in New York City. Three of the five selected winners will travel to New York City to attend LIGHTFAIR in person.

The winners of the 2009 LED Luminaire Design Competition are:

First Place: Tieni Wu
Second Place: Jana Sharmir
Third Place: Amanda Radatz
Honorable Mentions: Jenny Zhouchen and Melina Prokopakis

The sponsoring companies also provided scholarships to the top three designers. This generous contribution helped to offset the costs of materials for the winning designs.

For more information on the suppliers that participated in the LED Luminaire Design Competition, visit:

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors: www.osram-os.com
Arrow Electronics: www.arrow.com
Tyco Electronics: www.tycoelectronics.com/lighting
OPTEK Technology: www.optekinc.com
Magtech Industries: www.magtechind.com
ABOUT OSRAM OPTO SEMICONDUCTORS

OSRAM is part of the Industry sector of Siemens and one of the two leading lighting manufacturers in the world. Its subsidiary, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH in Regensburg (Germany), offers its customers solutions based on semiconductor technology for lighting, sensor and visualization applications. OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has production sites in Regensburg (Germany) and Penang (Malaysia). Its headquarters for North America is in Sunnyvale (USA), and for Asia in Hong Kong. OSRAM Opto Semiconductors also has sales offices throughout the world. In the 2008 fiscal year (to the end of September) OSRAM Opto Semiconductors employed more than 4600 people and achieved sales totaling 529 million euros. For more information go to www.osram-os.com.

About California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC)

CLTC at UC Davis, is a research and education facility that focuses on the application of energy-efficient lighting and daylighting technologies through research, development, demonstration, outreach and education in partnership with utilities, manufacturers, end users, builders, designers, and governmental agencies. CLTC was established through a collaborative effort of the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program and the University of California, Davis, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association to advance energy efficient lighting and daylighting technologies. For more information, go to http://cltc.ucdavis.edu.